Ramsay Bolton
Lord Ramsay Bolton, formerly known as Ramsay Snow, is a major character in the fourth, fifth and sixth seasons. He initially appeared as a recurring character in the third season. He is played by starring cast member Iwan Rheon, and debuts in "Dark Wings, Dark Words". He was first referred to in Season 2, but his actual name is not mentioned until "Mhysa". Ramsay is the bastard son of Lord Roose Bolton. Biography Background Ramsay Snow was Lord Roose Bolton's bastard son and the product of rape: years ago Roose discovered that a miller had wed without his permission. He had the miller hanged and raped his wife. Ramsay was born shortly afterwards, and his mother brought him to the Dreadfort, his father's castle, for Roose to acknowledge as his son. Roose very nearly killed both Ramsay and his mother, but relented upon realizing that the child was indeed his. Ramsay was Roose's only living child following the death of Domeric Bolton, as well as the only possible heir to House Bolton until the birth of a child by Roose's new wife, Fat Walda Frey. He stayed behind as castellan of the Dreadfort when his father left for the south to fight in the War of the Five Kings. Ramsay kept a pack of dogs, which he employs for hunting. He was also in a relationship with the kennelmaster's daughter, Myranda, whom he supposedly planned to marry before his father ultimately had him legitimized. Season 2 After Winterfell was seized by Theon Greyjoy for the ironborn, Ramsay was dispatched by his father Roose Bolton to re-take it in the name of King Robb Stark. Ramsay's forces besiege the castle and he infuriates Theon by blowing a horn all through the night. The following morning, Theon rallies his men to defend the castle, but he is betrayed and knocked out cold by his men, who accept Robb Stark's offer of mercy for the ironborn garrison if they surrender and hand over Theon. However, the castle is sacked by Ramsay afterwards and instead of letting the ironborn walk free, he flays them alive."Valar Morghulis" Season 3 Following the Sack of Winterfell, Ramsay and his men take Theon to the Dreadfort, where the ironborn prince is subjected to gruesome tortures. Embarking on a twisted campaign of psychological manipulation, Ramsay poses as an ironborn emissary of Theon's sister, Yara, and falsely claims to have been sent by her to liberate him."Dark Wings, Dark Words" Ramsay Snow sends a false report to Harrenhal, where the main force of the Northern army has established, of the sacking of Winterfell by the ironborn, of the disappearance of Bran and Rickon Stark, and the unknown whereabouts of Theon Greyjoy. Later that evening Ramsay returns, and releases Theon, provides him with a horse and tells him to ride east to Deepwood Motte, where his sister is waiting for him. Theon's captors, however, track him down and capture him again. As punishment, their leader attempts to rape Theon. Ramsay appears and swiftly dispatches the kidnappers with bow and arrow, deepening the bond of trust between them."Walk of Punishment" Afterward Ramsay promises Theon to take him to Deepwood Motte. Some time later the men reach a holdfast; Theon questions having to sneak inside since Yara's men are loyal to her. Ramsay warns Theon that some of the men belong to his father Balon. As the mysterious boy struggles to open a locked gate Theon confesses his jealousy of Robb's status, the murder of the two boys he passed off as Bran and Rickon, and acknowledges that Eddard Stark was his true father. After opening the gate Theon and Ramsay enter a darkened room. The young man lights a torch and Theon, much to his horror, notices he's back in the torture chamber. Armed men enter and Ramsay claims that Theon killed their comrades and escaped but he has brought their captive back. Kicking and screaming, Theon is refastened to the rack, as Ramsay drops his facade, grins sadistically and tells the men to put Theon "back where he belongs"."And Now His Watch is Ended" Ramsay awakens Theon with a horn to continue torturing him. He threatens to remove Theon's pinky finger if he cannot guess Ramsay's true identity and their current location. After several guesses, Ramsay tells Theon he is correct in guessing that Ramsay is the brother of Torrhen Karstark, and that they are in Karhold. However he then points out that Theon never asked if he was a liar. He admits that he was lying, and begins flaying Theon's finger while his victim screams for him to cut it off."The Climb" Theon is freed from his constraints by two young women, Myranda and Violet. They give him water and clean his wounds. Theon is apprehensive about their aid, until they disrobe and begin pleasuring him. The three are soon interrupted by Ramsay, who enters the chamber wielding a knife. After taunting Theon about his sexual prowess, he orders his men to restrain Theon and then removes Theon's genitals."The Bear and the Maiden Fair" Ramsay admits that the rumors about Theon were true, and that he did have a "good-sized cock", motioning towards Theon's blood-stained, badly-sewn up britches before momentarily tricking him into believing that the pork sausage he is eating is his penis. Ramsay talks about amputees having phantom limbs and wonders if Theon will have a phantom penis, feeling an itch whenever he sees naked girls. When Theon begs to be killed, Ramsay states that he is no good to him dead. Ramsay decides to give Theon a new name, and beats him until he starts calling himself "Reek". Ramsay also sends a letter to Balon Greyjoy with a box containing Theon's penis. He threatens to send more of Theon's body parts and flay every ironborn in the North alive if they have not left by the full moon."Mhysa" Season 4 during their hunt of Tansy.]] Ramsay frees Theon from his restraints, but forces him to work for him as a servant. Some time later, Ramsay hunts a girl named Tansy in the woods with his hounds, Myranda, and Theon, recently renamed "Reek". With bows in hand, he and Myranda gleefully pursue Tansy, firing arrows at her as they go. Ramsay explains that Tansy had made Myranda jealous, so she has to go because she causes too many problems otherwise. Myranda manages to strike Tansy with an arrow in the leg before Ramsay happily releases his dogs on her, killing her. Shortly afterward, Lord Roose Bolton arrives at the Dreadfort where Ramsay waits for him. Roose introduces Ramsay to his newly acquired wife, Walda Bolton, and asks to see his captive. Ramsay also greets Locke and congratulates him for his mutilation of Jaime Lannister. Locke assures him that the Kingslayer had screamed loudly enough that Ramsay would have enjoyed it. Ramsay brings "Reek" to his father, who quickly becomes furious with Ramsay for torturing and mutilating a valuable hostage. Roose explains that he wanted to use Theon as a bargaining chip to rid the North of Iron Islanders, and for that he needed him unharmed. Roose chastises Ramsay for his actions, and laments placing too much trust in him. Ramsay tries to prove that his torture had a purpose. He orders Reek to shave him with a razor, demonstrating that he will never betray them, and adds that his method revealed key information; that Theon did not kill Bran and Rickon Stark. Theon also tells them that their half-brother Jon Snow may be sheltering them at the Wall. Finding it enlightening, Roose sends Locke after the Stark boys, and Ramsay suggests that they kill Jon as well, since he is half-Stark and may pose a threat to their future hold on the North. Roose orders Ramsay to take Moat Cailin, a vital base in the North, from the Greyjoy forces, and promises that if he succeeds, he will reconsider Ramsay's position."The Lion and the Rose" Ramsay engages in particularly violent sex with Myranda, forcing her to strangle him as they both climax. Meanwhile Yara Greyjoy, intent on rescuing her brother Theon from Ramsay's clutches, leads a force of fifty ironborn reavers in rowing boats up the Weeping Water towards the Dreadfort. They manage to enter the castle and find Theon in a kennel alongside the dogs, but he refuses to go, fearing that this is another one of Ramsays cruel tricks. Ramsay soon arrives and drives the ironborn from the Dreadfort with his soldiers. When an ironborn asks if they are leaving without her brother, Yara declares her brother to be dead. Later, Ramsay rewards Reek with a bath for his loyalty. When Reek undresses, Ramsay smiles when he notices his victim's missing genitals. Ramsay gently washes Reek while asking his captive whether he loves him, which Reek confirms. He continues by instructing Reek that he has to pretend to be someone he is not: Theon Greyjoy."The Laws of Gods and Men" Ramsay besieges Moat Cailin and sends Reek to treat with the ironborn garrison, posing as Theon Greyjoy. Theon vouches for Ramsay's promise of safe passage back to the Iron Islands if they surrender. The ironborn surrender, and Ramsay instead flays them all alive. Having taken Moat Cailin, Ramsay and his father meet on an open field. Roose hands him a document legitimizing his bastard son and granting him the right to call himself "Bolton". Ramsay is delighted, and they then make their way towards Winterfell."The Mountain and the Viper" Season 5 While eating with his father, Ramsay tells him that he managed to "persuade" House Cerwyn, one of House Stark's vassals, to pay their taxes by flaying Lord Medger Cerwyn, his wife and older brother alive, and coercing their son to pay in their stead. Finally out of patience with his son, Roose scolds Ramsay for his actions, because since Tywin Lannister is dead, the Lannisters will no longer support them and they will not be able to hold the North with terror alone, since the Northern Houses will eventually rise up against them at the slightest excuse. Roose then reveals that he has arranged for Ramsay to marry Sansa Stark to placate the Northerners. When Sansa arrives, Ramsay greets her with politeness. Later, Petyr Baelish speaks with Ramsay, who promises never to harm Sansa after Baelish subtly warns him against it. As Ramsay takes his leave, he expresses his gratitude to Baelish for finding him a suitable match."High Sparrow (episode)" Later, Myranda tells Ramsay of her jealousy for Sansa, since Ramsay had previously promised to marry her while he was still a bastard. Ramsay coldly admits his attraction to Sansa and openly states his opinion of her beauty, and becomes angry when Myranda threatens to marry someone else and leave him. Ramsay approaches Myranda and reminds her of what he does to people who bore him. He forces himself on Myranda, who bites his lip but reciprocates. Ramsay later confronts Reek about his encounter with Sansa, and warns him not to keep secrets from him again. Though he seems like he will punish Reek, he ultimately forgives him. At dinner, Ramsay initially expresses delight at his wedding to Sansa, but things turn sour when he brings Reek into the room and coerces him into apologizing to Sansa for allegedly killing Bran and Rickon, and suggests that Reek should give Sansa away at their wedding. Roose puts a stop to his son's behavior by announcing that Walda is pregnant with a boy. Ramsay's expression turns angry, as he sees Roose and Walda's child as a potential threat to his position as his father's heir. After dinner, Ramsay expresses his distress at the possibility of the unborn child jeopardizing his claim on the North to his father, who reprimands him for his behavior earlier but scoffs at his worry. He then regales Ramsay with the tale of how he met his mother, a miller's wife who had married without Roose's knowledge or consent. Roose had the miller hanged and raped his wife beneath his swaying corpse, even though she fought him the whole time. Sometime later, the miller's wife came to the Dreadfort and left the infant Ramsay with him. Roose had been prepared to throw Ramsay into the sea to drown, but stayed himself because he knew, deep down, that Ramsay was his son. Roose then states that Stannis Baratheon is at Castle Black and will likely attempt to take Winterfell from them during his journey to King's Landing, and Ramsay promises to help his father counter Stannis."Kill the Boy" Later, when Theon comes to fetch Sansa for the wedding, she refuses to hold Theon’s arm, even after he pleads her to, saying that Ramsay will punish him if she doesn’t. Reek then gives Sansa away to Ramsay, and they wed in front of the Godswood. After retreating to the bedroom, Ramsay tells Sansa to take her clothes off. Reek is about to leave but Ramsay tells him he must stay. Ramsay quips to Reek:, "You grew up with her as a girl, now watch her become a woman." Annoyed by Sansa's hesitance, he angrily rips open the back of her dress and pushes her face-down over the side of the bed. As he unbuckles his clothes, Sansa obediently remains still but begins crying softly. Reek is visibly distraught and begins silently crying himself as Ramsay proceeds to rape her, and though he is still too weak to intervene, a flash of anger briefly spreads across Reek's face as this is going on."Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken" Over the next few days, Ramsay continues to force himself on to Sansa every night. He is informed by a reluctant Reek of Sansa's plan to escape by signalling Brienne of Tarth and Podrick Payne to come and rescue her, and retaliates by flaying Sansa's elderly maid who delivered Brienne's message to her. Ramsay forces Sansa to look at the corpse, and walks with her across Winterfell, boasting about how he will succeed his father as Warden of the North and she will be his Wardeness, but Sansa counters that Roose is expecting a boy with Walda, a boy who may be Ramsay's baby brother but may still become Roose's true heir, since Ramsay is still technically a bastard, who was even legitimized by Tommen Baratheon, who Sansa claims is also a bastard. Ramsay, visibly angered, counters that even bastards can rise, like her half-brother Jon Snow did when he became the new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and taunts Sansa for not knowing the news about Jon's new title. He then orders Sansa taken back to her chambers and locked up again."The Gift (episode)" As Stannis approaches Winterfell, Ramsay is present at a council meeting on how to counter him. While Roose suggests that they wait out the siege inside Winterfell and allow Stannis and his army to die in the cold, or even for Stannis' men to mutiny against him, Ramsay advocates taking twenty of his best men to face Stannis in the open, on the basis that Stannis will not leave the North so easily, and they need to show the rest of the North how they will deal with Southern invaders."Hardhome (episode)" Ramsay takes his men into Stannis's camp and they torch some of his tents, severely depleting Stannis' men and resources, and manage to flee back to Winterfell without being spotted."The Dance of Dragons" However, Stannis remains undaunted. Though his numbers are greatly reduced, he leads a siege to Winterfell. Ramsay, however, leads the Bolton forces into battle and massacres Stannis' men, sustaining minor cuts to the face in the process. In the aftermath, Ramsay slays a half-dead man, despite his claims of surrender. Having defeated Stannis, he heads back to Winterfell, saying "my wife must be lonely", unaware that Sansa and Theon have killed Myranda and escaped from the castle."Mother's Mercy" Season 6 Having discovered Myranda's body and Sansa and Theon's escape, Ramsay mourns Myranda in his chamber, reminiscing with her corpse. Even when they met as children, Myranda showed him no fear, a singular attribute among those who knew him that he attributes to her tolerance of the even more fearsome dogs. Ramsay promises the deceased Myranda that her pain will be paid for, many times over, and seems sincere when he voices regret that she will not be there to witness his retribution for her. When Maester Wolkan interrupts, however, asking what to do with the body, Ramsay abruptly changes his mood, angrily stating that she's "good meat", and orders Wolkan to feed her to the hounds. Later, while speaking with his father, Ramsay is congratulated for his victory over Stannis but chastised for allowing Sansa and Theon to escape. Ramsay claims he has sent men and hounds to find them, but Roose counters that if Sansa does manage to escape from the North, he will disinherit Ramsay in favor of his unborn son with Walda, leaving Ramsay visibly shaken."The Red Woman" Harald Karstark later arrives at Winterfell to notify Ramsay and Roose that Theon and Sansa have disappeared. Ramsay suggests that they march on the Wall, kill Jon and retrieve them, a suggestion Roose immediately dismisses on the basis that Jon is a bastard. Roose argues against Ramsay's plan on the grounds that killing the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch would only further alienate the rest of the Northern houses, many of which are still angry with the Boltons for their part in the Red Wedding. Maester Wolkan announces that Walda has given birth to a baby boy. Roose calms him by promising him that he will always be his firstborn, but Ramsay stabs his father in the chest, killing him instantly. Ramsay orders Wolkan to announce that Roose was poisoned by their enemies, and to bring Walda and the baby to him. After glimpsing his new half-brother in the Winterfell courtyard, Ramsay leads Walda to the kennels and locks them inside, setting the hounds to maul them to death."Home" Later, Ramsay is approached by Lord Smalljon Umber, who asks for House Bolton's support in fighting Jon Snow and the Wildlings, as Last Hearth is the northernmost castle in the North. Ramsay agrees on the condition that Umber pledge fealty and kneel before him. The Smalljon refuses both times, instead bringing Ramsay a gift in the form of a captured Osha and Rickon Stark. Upon seeing Shaggydog's head as proof of Rickon's identity, Ramsay welcomes the youngest Stark home."Oathbreaker" .]] Ramsay later has Osha brought to him, and asks her about her involvement with House Stark. Osha pretends to have been a slave and says that she carried around Rickon to find a buyer for him. She also tries to seduce Ramsay, but it was only a ruse to get him distracted and kill him with the knife that was in the table next to him. As Osha lies on his lap, Ramsay reveals that Theon had told him how she helped the Stark boys escape. Osha rushes for the knife, but Ramsay takes another one out from his holster and stabs her in the neck. Osha falls to the floor and bleeds to death as Ramsay cleans the blade and watches in amusement, returning to peeling his apple with the same knife used to kill her. Ramsay sends a letter to Jon Snow at Castle Black, where he rightly assumes Sansa has headed. He demands that Jon returns Sansa to Winterfell, and threatens to kill every wildling who survived the Massacre at Hardhome, let his men rape Sansa, and maim and kill Jon and Rickon should he refuse. Tormund, de facto leader of the wildlings, claims his 2,000 fighters are not enough to face the 5,000 soldiers of House Bolton. Jon and Sansa decide to try to unite the houses of the North against the Boltons, as Jon is the son of a legitimate Warden of the North. Together with Tormund, they start planning to expell House Bolton from Winterfell and restore House Stark's hold in the North.Book of the Stranger for the first time.]] Ramsay and Smalljon Umber meet with Jon, Sansa, Tormund, Davos and Lyanna at the battlefield the day before the battle. Jon offers Ramsay a chance to settle their dispute in one on one combat but Ramsay refuses, citing almost certain victory due to his significantly larger army. Ramsay offers surrender terms saying he will pardon Jon for breaking his Night's Watch vows if he will hand Sansa over, which is ignored. Sansa asks for proof of Rickon's capture, and he responds by throwing the decapitated head of his direwolf, Shaggydog, at her feet. Sansa refuses the terms of surrender and tells Ramsay he will die the next day, before riding off. 's army.]] The next day, as the battle begins, Ramsay arrives holding the captive Rickon. He sets him free, but then shoots him dead with an arrow as he is inches away from Jon's reach. With Jon now defenseless in the middle of the battlefield, Bolton archers fire volleys of arrows in his direction with the Bolton cavalry charging at him as well. The Stark cavalry begin their charge to meet the Bolton cavalry, narrowly saving Jon from being trampled to death and forcing them to abandon their initial battle plan. Ramsay executes a pincer movement with his infantry, completely encircling the Stark/Wildling army. As the Bolton army advances, Petyr Baelish and Sansa arrive with reinforcements courtesy of House Arryn, and their cavalry quickly flanks the encircling Bolton army, which is decimated. Defeated, Ramsay retreats with his remaining allies, and closes the gates, confident in their ability to withstand siege, and readies his archers. However, with the help of the giant Wun Weg Wun Dar Wun, Winterfell's gates are breached, and the remaining Bolton forces defeated, although Wun Wun is incapacitated by injuries sustained by archers, and Ramsay delivers the killing shot. Having nowhere else to go, he finally accepts Jon's offer to a one-on-one duel while wielding a bow and arrow. He shoots at Jon three times, but Jon blocks them all with his shield. Before Ramsay can fire a fourth arrow, Jon gets too close and smacks the weapon out of Ramsay's hands before knocking him to the ground with the shield, and proceeds to savagely beat Ramsay to a bloody pulp. Ramsay is spared, however, when Jon sees Sansa and decides that Ramsay is not his to kill. Ultimately, Ramsay is bound to a chair in a dungeon cell. At nightfall, Sansa goes to the cell. He goads her by telling her how she will never be rid of him because he is "part of her now". In response, Sansa tells him that he will be forgotten, and his House will cease to exist. She releases his hounds, which have not been fed for seven days, into his cell. Despite his confidence that they would never harm him, Ramsay quickly loses his composure and desperately attempts to order them to heel as they sniff at him hungrily. The hounds suddenly begin to devour Ramsay, who screams as he is torn apart and killed. With Ramsay's death, the Starks finally achieve their revenge against the Boltons for the Red Wedding, leaving House Bolton extinct and bringing a permanent end to the ancient feud between the Starks and the Boltons."Battle of the Bastards" Personality warriors.]] Ramsay was a genuine psychopath. He was sadistic, savage, wild, and completely capable of committing unspeakable atrocities without remorse, simply for pure amusement. Ramsay fully admits - and indeed revels in the fact - that he tortures and kills innocent people for no reason whatsoever, and that they do not deserve what he is doing to them. It simply makes him feel powerful. Ramsay was fearless - almost a beast in human skin - reveling in the violence of personal combat."The Laws of Gods and Men" Ramsay does not rave and rage, however: he has a perverse, playful, childlike giddiness as he inflicts pain on others, from flaying men alive to hunting and killing girls for sport. In his own twisted way Ramsay is actually quite intelligent, possessing a certain "low cunning" with which he tricks his enemies. He was particularly good at thinking on his feet, but reckless when it comes to long term consequences and intricate politics. Ramsay deeply enjoys playing mind games with his enemies using psychological torture, often tricking them into trusting him only to then break his empty promises to them. On the other hand, Ramsay was also very impulsive, not fully considering the long-term consequences of his actions much to his father's chagrin. When Lord Medger Cerwyn refuses to pay Ramsay taxes or even acknowledge Bolton rule, Ramsay flays Cerwyn alive along with his wife and brother while forcing his son to watch, and puts the corpses on public display. Roose angrily warns his son that this disproportionate brutality is severely damaging their long-term position but Ramsay largely ignores his warnings, instead privately holding a massive feast for himself even as other lords are worried about stockpiling provisions for the winter. Ramsay was also shown to be greatly frustrated by his bastard status, and is easily angered when he is referred to in such a way. A possible source of this resentment is his jealousy of Jon Snow, a fellow Northern bastard who was raised by his father, Ned Stark, along with his trueborn sons and eventually rose to become Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and as such, Ramsay desires to rise to a powerful political position as Jon did, which he himself states to Sansa by comparing himself to Jon. Ramsay's jealousy of Jon is so much that he expresses a willingness to kill Jon if the chance comes, though at the same time appears fearful when he hears that Jon may come after him with a wildling army. Quotes |-|Spoken by Ramsay= |-|Spoken about Ramsay= Appearances Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series Image Gallery Ramsay-and-Blood.jpg|Ramsay and his steed, Blood, in "Walk of Punishment". Snow-306-1396289530.jpg|Ramsay posing as a Greyjoy emissary. Ramsey-snow 2866198k.jpg|Ramsay posing as a Greyjoy emissary. Ramsay-402-promotional-full.jpg|Ramsay greets his father. Roose Ramsay Kill the Boy.jpg|Ramsay with Roose in "Kill the Boy". Sansa Ramsay Kill the Boy.jpg|Ramsay with Sansa in "Kill the Boy". Ramsay-Telltale.png|Ramsay as he appears in Game of Thrones: A Telltale Games Series. Ramsay Bolton-S05E10.png|Ramsay after crushing Stannis Baratheon's army. GOT S6 06.png|Ramsay and his father in season 6. RamsayKnifeSeason6.jpg|Ramsay after murdering Osha. RamsayBattleBastards.jpg|Ramsay prepares for Jon Snow's assault. Home 15.jpg|Ramsay kills Roose Bolton. Home 13.jpg|Ramsay sees his baby half-brother, moments before he kills him and his mother. Family tree Behind the scenes .]] Iwan Rheon's character was announced and then credited only as "Boy" in order to keep his true identity as Ramsay Snow a secret until "Mhysa." The only clue as to his identity was the manner in which Theon is fastened to the rack while Ramsay tortures him, identical to the symbol of House Bolton, representing a flayed man in an X-shape. Even though Ramsay did not appear prominently until ''A Dance with Dragons (he appears in A Clash of Kings, but disguised as a servant, Reek, until the final chapters), book readers would know immediately after dropping his façade in the TV series who he truly was. His posing as a servant boy to "help" Theon is an apparent nod to his "Reek" persona from A Clash of Kings. During casting for Season 1, Rheon originally auditioned for the role of Jon Snow, but lost to Kit Harrington. Throughout the series, particularly A Dance with Dragons, Ramsay is portrayed as Jon's foil in many ways, given that Jon and Ramsay are both bastards of Northern noble families (Stark and Bolton, respectively), and are each other's polar opposites, as well as the Boltons once again becoming the sworn enemies of the Starks after the Red Wedding. On Jon and Ramsay's rivalry, Rheon claims, "Jon and Ramsay are literally the opposite to each other, you know. Jon's very noble and honorable, and Ramsay's none of those things".HBO: Bastards of Westeros During development of "Battle of the Bastards", Ramsay was originally meant to have his showdown with Jon in the midst of the battle itself, though David Benioff and D. B. Weiss thought it more appropriate for them to face off inside the Winterfell courtyard, since the battle was effectively between the Starks and Boltons for Winterfell itself. While shooting Jon and Ramsay's showdown, Rheon was actually punched twice by Harington by accident, but not seriously hurt. In real life, despite having been seen onscreen in only one episode of the entire series, Rheon and Harington are close friends. After the episode aired, Rheon admitted in an interview that since being cast as Ramsay, he had wanted to shoot a scene with Jon Snow, who is Ramsay's polar opposite, and Harington praised Rheon's work on the series. In the books In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Ramsay Snow is Roose Bolton's bastard son. He is an ugly man which even splendorous garb cannot disguise. He is big boned and slope shouldered, with a fleshiness to him that suggests that later in life he will turn to fat. Ramsay is a sadistic psychopath and serial rapist and murderer. He is cruel, savage and wild, taking delight in torturing others. He is quite fond of the old Bolton custom of flaying their enemies alive. Roose only acknowledged Ramsay in his teenage years, thus Ramsay spent a rough youth in poverty as the bastard son of a poor miller's widow, until he somehow found out about his parentage and insisted on claiming his "rights". The result is that - in contrast with Jon Snow, the bastard of Winterfell - Ramsay is a crude, almost half-feral savage who is uneducated and knows nothing about courtly behavior. When Ramsay does send (dictated) letters to his enemies, they are often extremely crass, unstructured, and blunt, laced with profanity and taunting threats, and with pieces of human skin enclosed. While the letter Ramsay sends to Balon in the Season 3 finale of the TV series is not present in the books, it closely matches his "writing style" from the novels. One day, Ramsay’s mother appeared at Dreadfort to demand that Roose provided her a servant for Ramsay, who was growing up wild and unruly. He gave her one of his servants known as "Reek" for his stench. It was meant to be a cruel joke, but Reek and Ramsay became inseparable, and committed together savage atrocities. Roose himself has no idea if it was Ramsay who corrupted Reek, or the other way around. Ironically, Ramsay actually somewhat seems to like his mother, and speaks highly of her - she is after all the one who convinced him to go to the Dreadfort to pursue his "rights", though she also found him wild and unruly. Moreover, Ramsay has actually convinced himself that Roose fell in love with his mother at first sight, and thinks of their union as a poetic romance. In reality, Roose raped the miller's wife on a whim, under the very tree he had her husband hanged from, and afterwards was casually disappointed that raping her wasn't as physically pleasurable as he'd thought it would be. One of Ramsay's most monstrous hobbies is to have young women stripped naked and released into the Bolton forests, before hunting them with a pack of female feral dogs, that are deliberately trained to be vicious and mean-tempered. If the women do not give him good sport in the hunt, he punishes them by raping them, then flaying them alive. If the women give him good sport in the hunt, however, he will grant them the mercy of a quick death...after raping them first. He then flays their corpses. He names new female hunting dogs after the women who gave him the most enjoyable hunts before he killed them, as a warped way to "honor" them. The skins of his kills are brought back with him to the Dreadfort as gruesome trophies. The bodies of the women are fed to his dogs. Ramsay is introduced in A Clash of Kings, though his appearance in the TV series was pushed back until the third season. He is first mentioned by Lady Donella Hornwood who notes that he is massing troops at the Dreadfort. She sends him a message inquiring about his intentions, and he rudely answers that it is none of her business. Following the deaths of Lady Hornwood's husband and son, Ramsay forces her to marry him and to sign a will that names him as her heir, so he can inherit her lands. He rapes her and locks her in a tower, and does not give her any food. When Ser Rodrik Cassel finally arrived to free her, it was too late - she had gnawed off all of her fingers. As one of Ramsay's favorite torture tactics, he had flayed the skin off of all of the old woman's fingers, leaving her to bite them off as the only way to end the agony, after which in delirium from hunger she ate some. Ramsay later gleefully boasts about this accomplishment. Ramsay and his servant "Reek" later caught a peasant girl and raped her to death. Reek continued even after the girl died. It is then that Ser Rodrik's men found them. Ramsay was supposedly killed, and Reek taken prisoner to Winterfell. Rodrik wished to put Reek to death, but needed him alive as a witness to many of Ramsay's crimes, hoping that after Roose Bolton heard his tale, he would abandon his claim for the Hornwood lands. After Theon takes Winterfell, Reek offers to serve him if released from captivity. He becomes one of Theon's supposedly more trustworthy attendants, helping him hunt for Bran and Rickon. It is Reek who advises Theon to kill and flay two unnamed miller's sons to pass off as the Starks, and Theon accepts his advice. Afterwards, Theon orders Reek to secretly murder Gelmarr, Aggar and Gynir for their knowledge of the truth, and he does. Since Theon needs a scapegoat, he falsely accuses Farlen the kennelmaster and executes him. Theon does not kill Reek, fearing that the blackguard hid a written account of what they had done. After Rodrik defeats Dagmer Cleftjaw at Torrhen's Square, the Northmen march on Winterfell to liberate it. Theon refuses to give up the castle, using Beth Cassel as hostage to prevent Rodrik from attacking, and his men prepare to make a final stand. Reek offers to help Theon by taking a large sum of money to the Dreadfort and returning with much-needed reinforcements, asking for Palla in return. Theon does not trust Reek but reluctantly agrees, since he has no other choice. He promises to give Palla to Reek providing that he brings two hundred men. When Northmen led by Rodrik Cassel surround Winterfell, an army of 600 men bearing the flayed man of House Bolton arrives, led by a mysterious armored captain. As Rodrik offers his hand in friendship, the captain cuts off his arm and the Bolton army attack the other Northmen and defeat them, suffering only minor casualties. They enter the castle and the captain presents Theon with the bodies of Rodrik, Leobald Tallhart, and Cley Cerwyn. He removes his helmet and reveals himself to be Reek, then reveals that he is in fact the real Ramsay Snow. He had switched clothes with the real Reek when Rodrik arrived to cheat death and get into Winterfell, while Reek was killed by Rodrik's men. He tells Theon that he would much enjoy the use of his bed-warmer Kyra instead of Palla, and when Theon refuses, Ramsay knocks him out. Ramsay and his men then put Winterfell to the torch and its people to the sword (among them Maester Luwin), as well as abducting Theon and killing almost all the other ironborn. In addition to Theon, Ramsay took two of Lord Frey's grandsons ("Big" Walder and "Little" Walder) who were being fostered at Winterfell, Kyra and six women of the castle staff, among them Palla, Old Nan, and Beth Cassel. The two Frey boys soon entered into Bolton service as Ramsay's squires, after the Freys and Boltons united to betray the Starks at the Red Wedding and switched allegiance to the Lannisters. As for the seven female captives: according to Lord Wyman Manderly (who has heard it from an eyewitness), Ramsay roped them together and marched them to the Dreadfort. The books reveal explicitly only what he did to Kyra. The remaining six women are listed in the appendix of the fourth novel as being held captive in Dreadfort, and their fate is unknown; they have probably been molested and killed like Kyra and many of Ramsay's other female victims, but it is uncertain. It is unclear from the books whether Ramsay contacted his father after Theon let him go, got orders from Roose to destroy Winterfell and followed them, or that he committed all the above actions on his own and only later reported what he had done to Roose, who had independently come to the same conclusion that the time was ripe to betray the Starks. Roose Bolton and the Freys lie about their reports from what happened at Winterfell. Lothar Frey and Walder Rivers inform Robb and Catelyn that they got a letter from Lord Frey's grandsons: Winterfell has been destroyed and Ser Rodrik was killed by the ironborn, but the survivors were taken to the Dreadfort by Ramsay. Lothar and Walder claim not to be sure of Theon's fate. When Roose reports Ramsay's actions to Robb (falsely making it sound as if Ramsay saved the day by driving the ironborn from Winterfell), Catelyn sharply reminds him that Ramsay has committed many vile crimes, among them murder and rape. Roose answers nonchalantly that after the war is over, Ramsay will be tried for his crimes, and maybe his deeds will atone for the crimes he committed - or not. He is not overly concerned of the possibility that Ramsay may be executed (particularly because he knows Robb will not live long enough to judge Ramsay). Ramsay's torture and emasculation of Theon are not directly described in A Storm of Swords, but rather alluded to in A Dance with Dragons. Ramsay does not send a letter and a box containing Theon's genitals to Balon Greyjoy, the Greyjoys remaining oblivious to Theon's survival. Ramsay does send his father some skin flayed from Theon's finger, which Lord Bolton shows to Robb and Catelyn before the Red Wedding as proof that Theon is being punished for his betrayal. Ramsay sends a letter of warning to Asha, in which a piece of Theon's skin is enclosed, but that happens much later. Neither Asha nor any of the ironborn know what happened to Theon, believing him to be dead (though a few ironborn lords point out that his death was never confirmed). Arguably this is the only "sane" reason that Ramsay kept Theon alive, though the main reason was still that Ramsay took sadistic glee in unfairly inflicting torment on a random person. The succession laws in the newly independent Iron Islands are unclear, i.e. Asha/Yara feels that as the older sibling she is the heir, but according to the most common inheritance law in the Seven Kingdoms, as Balon's only surviving son Theon is the heir to the Iron Islands. Ramsay is not simply holding Theon hostage, as he has no intention of letting him leave alive and makes no attempt to contact the Greyjoys about his survival. Rather, Ramsay's goal was this very uncertainty: even if Theon were dead, the ironborn's line of succession would at least be clear, but not revealing the fate of Balon's heir generated confusion and dissent within their ranks. The TV version altered this, but still makes clear that Ramsay never offers hostage terms for Theon. In the TV version, Ramsay's plan is that slowly torturing Theon and mailing pieces of him to Pyke will eventually frighten the Greyjoys into withdrawing from the North. Another possible reason for Ramsay's treatment of Theon is that Ramsay resents him for the time he served Theon in Winterfell, disguised as the original Reek. The fact that Theon treated Ramsay rather correctly and followed his vile advices (among them, killing the miller's sons to cover the escape of the Stark boys) makes no different to Ramsay. In his eyes that servitude was humiliating, and it is his twisted way to pay Theon back by reversing the roles: now he is the master and Theon is Reek the servant. Roose is very dissatisfied with several aspects of Ramsay's behavior: * Ramsay commits his atrocities openly. Roose chides Ramsay (generally, not in respect to any specific deed of Ramsay) that he hears everywhere tales about him, and that people fear him. Ramsay comments that it is good, but Roose answers "You are mistaken. It is not good. No tales were ever told of me. Do you think I would be sitting here if it were otherwise? Your amusements are your own, I will not chide you on that count, but you must be more discreet. A peaceful land, a quiet people. That has always been my rule. Make it yours". It seems Ramsay is unimpressed by his father's rebuke. * Ramsay is indifferent to the fact that nearly all the houses in the North hate the Boltons. Instead of treating amicably the Boltons' extremely few loyal vassals (Ryswells and Dustins) and allies (Freys), Ramsay does the opposite: ** When hearing that Lady Dustin cannot abide him, he contemplates aloud about giving her the traditional Bolton treatment, and burning down her town. Roose winces at that and chides Ramsay “There are times you make me wonder if you truly are my seed. My forebears were many things, but never fools". ** Ramsay and his men go to look for three Freys who disappeared mysteriously on their way from the White Harbor to Winterfell, but do not find them. Ramsay is not concerned about his failure, dismissing it nonchalantly with "The world won’t miss a few Freys. There’s plenty more down at the Twins should we ever have need of one". * Ramsay speaks openly about the Stark boys, who were allegedly killed by Theon. Roose asks him sharply how many of their grudging friends they’d retain if the truth was known. * Ramsay would not let anyone take his place as Roose's heir. Roose suspects, and is probably correct, that Ramsay murdered his trueborn half-brother Domeric, and intends to do the same with any trueborn children Walda will give birth to. In view of Ramsay's personality, it is likely that the taboo of kinslaying is no more than a joke to him. Although Ramsay is noted as being a fierce fighter, he is undisciplined in warfare, lacking form or finesse, and is described as wielding his sword like a meat cleaver. Roose admits it is not entirely Ramsay's fault, it is because Reek (the original) was his only tutor, and Reek himself was never trained at arms. In the TV series, however, he is depicted as a deadly hunter and archer, easily dispatching six of his own men within seconds. According to Roose, Ramsay has deluded himself into believing that massacring unarmed prisoners (such as at Winterfell and Moat Cailin) makes him a skilled battlefield commander, when in fact he has never won a real battle. He also receives a long rebuke from his father for flaying alive unarmed men who surrendered Moat Cailin after Ramsay promised them safe passage home. Roose points out that Ramsay will never be trusted again, and the enemies of the Boltons will now fight to the death rather than surrender to them. In the books Roose never speaks about Ramsay's conduct at Moat Cailin, nor about its long-range applications. In the books, Ramsay is known for his ostentatious taste in clothes; garbing himself in velvet, silk, and satin, usually in the Bolton colors - pink and red. In the show, however, Ramsay's attire is considerably more subdued, in order to fit in with the established drab dress code for northern characters. That being said, the leather jerkin Ramsay wears in season four is, in fact, a very dark shade of reddish purple: a subtle reference to his literary counterpart. Ramsay marries a fake Stark (actually Jeyne Poole, masquerading as Arya Stark instead of Sansa) also procured by Littlefinger, instead of Sansa Stark herself. In turn, Sansa is betrothed to Harrold Hardyng, Lord Robert Arryn's unlikely heir, instead of Ramsay. Ramsay subjects Jeyne to emotional and physical torture, even forcing Reek to take part. When Stannis Baratheon's army approaches, Ramsay prepares to lead a counterattack, but the actual battle has yet to be depicted. Notably, Ramsay unwittingly serves as the true catalyst of the Mutiny at Castle Black. He apparently sends a letter to Jon Snow at Castle Black, boasting that he has killed Stannis and captured Mance Rayder (whose execution was faked and whom Jon sent to Winterfell to rescue Jeyne, believing it was Arya), but revealing that Jeyne and Theon have escaped. In the letter, Ramsay furiously demands that Jon return Jeyne and Theon to him, and hand over Selyse Baratheon, Shireen Baratheon, Melisandre, Val (Mance's sister-in-law) and several of Stannis's court to him as hostages, threatening that if Jon does not, he will march on the Wall and kill him. Finally pushed to his breaking point, Jon instead decides that he will head to Winterfell in order to confront and kill Ramsay himself (his inner monologue even saying, "I have my swords, and we are coming for you, bastard."), but he is stabbed by his Night's Watch brothers before he can leave Castle Black. Whether the contents of Ramsay's letter are entirely true or not remains to be seen, as well as the possibility that the letter was not even written by Ramsay, since it lacked a piece of flayed skin tied to it, his calling card. The subplot of Jon's increasing anger at Ramsay was initially cut from the fifth season, though their rivalry from A Dance with Dragons was alluded to when Ramsay compared himself to Jon and outright expressed a determination to rise to power like Jon did. The sixth season, however, sees Ramsay come into contact with Jon for the first time in the series via the Bastard Letter, which ultimately leads to their climactic showdown, the Battle of the Bastards. At the end of the fifth and most recent book, Ramsay is still alive, though his death in the television series implies he will die in The Winds of Winter. In the books, Ramsay is often accompanied by a gang of brutal sadistic lackeys called "the Bastard's Boys", who assist him in his atrocities. Ramsay is unaware that they all report to Roose about his deeds, as the latter secretly reveals to Reek. There are no women among the Bastard's Boys. In the TV version, Myranda is loosely a condensed and gender-swapped equivalent to them. She is mentioned to be the kennelmaster's daughter, perhaps a nod to the one called Ben Bones. See also * (MAJOR spoilers from the books) References de:Ramsay Bolton es:Ramsay Bolton fr:Ramsay Bolton it:Ramsay Bolton ja:ラムジー・ボルトン pl:Ramsay Bolton pt-br:Ramsay Bolton ru:Рамси Болтон uk:Рамсі Сноу zh:小子 Ramsay Snow Category:Bastards Category:Season 3 Characters Category:Characters Category:Characters from the North Category:Season 4 Characters Category:Castellans Category:Major Characters Category:Season 5 Characters Category:Telltale Games Series Characters Category:Season 6 Characters Category:Wardens Category:Lords Paramount Category:Lords of Winterfell Category:Status: Dead